JINAN, Oct. 31  -- China's Ministry of Culture and Shandong provincial government on Monday signed an agreement to build a Chinese culture center in Belgrade, Serbia.

The center will cover a land area of 6,000 square meters and be built on the site of the former Chinese embassy that was destroyed by a NATO bomb in May 1999 in what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The total planned construction area will reach 30,000 square meters, including eight stories above the ground and two underground.

The project is expected to be completed by June 2018 and will be constructed by a state-owned group from Shandong Province. The provincial government will be responsible for the management and operation of the center.

Deputy cultural minister Ding Wei said the center will serve local people with cultural and artistic activities in cooperation with local cultural organizations to boost cultural exchange and enhance friendship between the two countries.